Acts of Active Citizenship
‘Acts of Active Citizenship’ are a Measure of the Impact of Our Citizenship Education Programmes
Our citizenship programmes at CMCA are targeted towards creating tangible change in students and youth. One of the best ways in which we see this tangible change is when students take the initiative to act towards solving a particular issue they face in their own lives. We call such actions ‘acts of active citizenship’. This is an effective measure of CMCA’s citizenship and life skills education programmes.
Whether it is calling a helpline to get a streetlight fixed, or having a child labourer rescued by the child helpline, our sessions make children confident enough to tackle real world issues. Still wondering what exactly we mean? Read on for stories of inspiring acts of active citizenship by our young citizens.
OUTCOMES – Select Stories on ‘Acts of Active Citizenship’
This selection of stories are drawn from different fields such as local government and civic amenities, equality and diversity, health and sanitation and environmental awareness. These citizenship activities demonstrate the impact our programmes have on the understanding of democratic values and the change in behaviour it brings about among the young in our country.
- Akash and Nidhi, students of Freedom International School and St. Francis School, Bengaluru, made significant positive changes in their neighbourhood by contacting and engaging with the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike). They identified areas that needed attention, including black spots, faulty streetlights, and broken pavements. In addition to this, they also got the neighbourhood together on a Sunday for a cleanup event in their locality.
- CMCA members from Bengaluru, wrote a letter to the Traffic Police officer of the area requesting him to install ‘school zone’ and ‘no honking’ boards in front of their school. Acknowledging their efforts, the Traffic Police officer responded positively and now the school has these boards installed.
- Jhanavi, Kadambari, Brundha, Pranav, and Swaroop, Acharya Vidya Kula, Mysore, noticed parts of Mysore city saw numerous unauthorised hoardings on display. They reported them to the Mysore City Corporation Commissioner and requested that restrictions be made and the existing hoardings removed. The Mysore City Corporation, impressed by these young active citizens, not only acknowledged but also embraced their concerns. They thoroughly investigated the matter and passed an order restricting the advertisement of banners and hoardings across the city.
- Arundhati and Arunima, Navy Children School, Mumbai, got an open manhole in their neighbourhood fixed by reporting the issue to the relevant authorities.
- Vignesh, Maharishi Vidya Mandir School, Hosur, got streetlights installed in his neighbourhood by reporting the issue to the corporator.
- Veni, Government Girls High School, Kelamangalam, Hosur, rescued Priya, who was working as a domestic help, by reporting the matter to the child helpline. Priya now attends a Government School in Hosur.
- The CMCA club members from Bengaluru rescued their classmates Shankar and Ramu who were being made to skip school and work as labourers. The children spoke to their parents and convinced them to send Shankar and Ramu to school.
- Nisarga, JSS English Medium High School, Mysuru, stood up against caste discrimination. She spoke up for two women who were served food separately at a gathering in her village.
- Noor Fathima secured separate toilets for girls and boys, by working closely with the school authorities. She wrote a letter to the school principal and requested him to find a solution. Thanks to her initiative, the school now has separate toilets for boys and girls.
- Sreedhar, Deepika School, Bengaluru, rescued an abandoned girl child with the help of his father and left her in the care of the hospital. He followed up to make sure the child was taken care of.
- CMCA members, Navy Children School, Mumbai, contacted the authorities and got the drain near their school fixed. Their initiative shows how effective collaboration with local authorities can drive positive change within the community.
- CMCA members from Mysuru secured clean drinking water for their school by reporting the problem to the authorities.
- The CMCA club members, Government Girls High School, Kelamangalam, took proactive steps when they noticed issues with their school toilets. They approached the Headmaster, who promptly reported it to the Panchayat. The girls now have a new set of functioning toilets.
- Lavanya, a CMCA member from rural Karnataka, was inspired by what she learnt about sanitation in her CMCA class. She convinced her parents about the benefits of a toilet within the house and then secured their right to sanitation. Lavanya’s story inspired sixty other rural CMCA Club members to do the same. Lavanya’s inspiring story was featured on the hit show “Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi” on Star Plus. She was also recognised by UNICEF.
- Pranay, Manav, Ansh, Viraj, and Mahi, students of Campion School, Mumbai, got a garbage dump in their locality cleared by collaborating with the authorities.
- Gurunath from Bengaluru, rescued an injured animal by reporting it to the animal helpline.
- Karthika, Vincent Pallotti School, convinced her family to celebrate festivals in an eco-friendly way.
- Bhavna, Little Flower of Jesus School, Mumbai, spends her Sundays making cloth bags with cloth discarded by tailors. She goes on to distribute these bags for free in the community, thus encouraging them to reduce the use of plastic bags.
- Nishant Jain is a fifteen-year-old who has taken up the goal of spreading awareness on the proper disposal of batteries and e-waste to reduce the impact it has on the environment. The brilliant idea came to Nishant during his recovery period after he contracted a severe lung ailment as a result of the Deonar dumping ground fire in 2015. The fire was the result of indiscriminately disposed e-waste and batteries. For now, Nishant has collected over 350kg of e-waste and hopes to create such programmes in other cities across the country too.
- Subash from Bengaluru was one among the seven children who found three horses dying of starvation. The children brought them water from the nearby lake, fed them grass and bananas, and also got a doctor to administer saline. The matter was later reported to CUPA. While the action was too late for one of the three horses, two horses were saved thanks to the children’s proactive behaviour.
All names in these stories have been changed to protect the identity of the child.
Accreditation by Credibility Alliance
CMCA has been accredited by Credibility Alliance under the category “Desirability Norms” – for good governance, accountability, transparency and continuous improvements. Credibility Alliance is a consortium of voluntary organisations committed to enhancing accountability and transparency in the voluntary sector through good governance.